There is a much more interesting article about the subject, "The metabolic face of migraine" [0]. Besides Glutamate levels, a TL;DR is that migraine is a mechan

There is a much more interesting article about the subject, "The metabolic face of migraine" [0]. Besides Glutamate levels, a TL;DR is that migraine is a mechanism to trigger a 'brain shutoff' when brain energy levels are critically low. This happens if you there is a deficit between what can be absorbed and what is consumed. So if you can absorb the energy from sugar, sweets or energy drink do help, as the popular belief goes (caffeine also helps through different mechanisms, including blood flow changes, but can also cause a backlash). If it's not the case it is suggested to go to a ketogenic diet, to provide an alternative brain energy source (knowing that the transition can be particularly hard as the brain needs to adjust, which is known as ketogenic flu). TFA advances that glutamate is a byproduct of brain activity and thus its level correlates with brain fatigue. The Economist article does not link to the original research article [1], and besides adding fluff to the highlights, it makes some outlandish conclusion ("no doubt some researchers will now be looking at potions that might hack the brain in a way to artificially speed up its recovery from fatigue") but it's not clear what comes from the research article. Or, more interestingly, how it is intended to fit in the big picture. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27076095 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27076095 [1] https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdfExtended/S0960-9822(22)01111-3 https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdfExtended/S0960-9822(...